A sophomore class biology book currently being used has a copyright from 2000. Dawn Myers/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

A sophomore class biology book currently being used has a copyright from 2000.
Dawn Myers/Special to The Republic

A stack of Spanish textbooks. Jay Figueroa/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

A stack of Spanish textbooks.
Jay Figueroa/Special to The Republic

Lauren Couch posted a photo of what she said was the 10th snake she’d found this year in our near her equipment. She said her door needs new weather stripping. Lauren Couch/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Lauren Couch posted a photo of what she said was the 10th snake she’d found this year in our near her equipment. She said her door needs new weather stripping.
Lauren Couch/Special to The Republic

Kristen Brubacher posted this photo of an empty paper towel dispenser. Kristen Brubacher/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Kristen Brubacher posted this photo of an empty paper towel dispenser.
Kristen Brubacher/Special to The Republic

Megan Dover posted an old desk still being used. Megan Dover/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Megan Dover posted an old desk still being used.
Megan Dover/Special to The Republic

Elizabeth Robertson posted a photo of her carpet, duck taped in two different locations. Elizabeth Robertson/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Elizabeth Robertson posted a photo of her carpet, duck taped in two different locations.
Elizabeth Robertson/Special to The Republic

Ryan Reid posted a picture of social studies book being used in class. It depicts the “current” president as President George W. Bush. Ryan Reid/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Ryan Reid posted a picture of social studies book being used in class. It depicts the “current” president as President George W. Bush.
Ryan Reid/Special to The Republic

A sophomore class biology book currently being used has a copyright from 2000. Dawn Myers/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

A sophomore class biology book currently being used has a copyright from 2000.
Dawn Myers/Special to The Republic

Patricia Kramer, a fourth-grade Arizona teacher, posted a picture of her science books – which say Florida on the cover. She said the books aren’t aligned to Arizona’s state standards. Patricia Kramer/Special to The Republic

Arizona teachers share stories of crumbling classrooms

Patricia Kramer, a fourth-grade Arizona teacher, posted a picture of her science books – which say Florida on the cover. She said the books aren’t aligned to Arizona’s state standards.
Patricia Kramer/Special to The Republic

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Arizona teachers this week shared examples on social media of how a lack of state funding for education affects their classrooms.

The examples were posted on the grassroots Arizona Educators United Facebook page.

In addition to demanding a 20 percent raise, teachers are asking state leaders to restore more than $1 billion in education funding used to cover items such as textbooks, buses and building maintenance.

Here are some of the details teachers shared:

Outdated textbooks, tools

"Textbooks basically from when I was a baby ... they are totally out of date and we can barely use them because the information is not correct anymore (they are over 25 years old)! We have asked numerous times for new books, but always told no."

"I am teaching social studies with the same textbooks that I learned social studies from in the district 20 years ago."

Poor facilities

"My carpet is duck taped in two different locations because it is ripped apart ... not to mention all the stains ... gross."

"Does 25 year old stanky carpet count?? A clean floor space is kind of a kindergarten necessity!!"

Elizabeth Robertson posted a photo of her carpet, duck taped in two different locations.(Photo: Elizabeth Robertson/Special to The Republic)

"My daughter was sent home from school, missed 2 days because their heater was broken, the week before that their high school band room leaked so bad the kids had to cancel their band practice."

"When the custodian pressure washes the bathroom above my classroom, it leaks through the ceiling tile in my classroom."

“I had a student sit in a desk that literally fell apart underneath him. Both he and the desk went crashing to the ground. Thankfully, he was unharmed."

"Our school is out of lined paper. I had to ask parents for donations. My cupboard has a termite hole the size of my fist. Pencils? Don't ask. Our textbooks are 11 years old and I am grateful."

At least five broken desks in my room that we just deal with, teacher bathrooms with sinks that don't work, toilets don't flush right, copiers broken every week, right before Xmas we ran out of Kleenex, paper towels, and TP for the whole school."

This is the reality of the Teachers. Who enter in the field of teaching a teacher should not spend their own money to buy school supplies for their students don't blame them for walk-out blamed on the Arizona Legislations and the governor #RedForEd#RaisesNotLies#AZlegpic.twitter.com/mF7l52cCL0

Critters

"We have roaches in our overhead lights. Pretty gross."

"My first 2 years of teaching, I taught with rats in the ceiling! Sometimes the trap would catch one while I was teaching and we could hear the rat dying above us. We’d have to interrupt the lesson and go outside while the custodian removed the dead rat from the trap."

"Our school is out of lined paper. I had to ask parents for donations. My cupboard has a termite hole the size of my fist. Pencils? Don't ask. Our textbooks are 11 years old and I am grateful."

"My room gets spider outbreaks. I’m lucky to have an incredible custodian who comes in daily to find them and spray them with soap water and brush them away."

Buses

"Since we cannot find bus drivers because of the low pay, our coaches have to drive players in vans. When all the vans are gone, the few buses we do have end up having to pick us up hours before we need to leave because they still have to transport students home. Therefore athletes are pulled from class hours earlier than normal, and teachers are left scrambling for coverage. Because of the lack of funding in finding something as simple as a bus driver, our students are impacted in the classroom by having to leave class earlier and teachers that coach have to leave their students behind."